Steam Next Fest 被 AI 主导，新浏览器扩展 Slop-Inator 助你过滤垃圾游戏

With each new Steam Next Fest, a part of me dies a little. This time around is no exception: in fact, it might just be worse. While this iteration feels like one of the biggest to date, the sheer volume of games that use generative AI is astounding. Whether it's art or voiceover, ChatGPT must have been pretty busy this time around. Sure, some of those assets are probably placeholders, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Enter Slop-Inator, a new browser tool that actively flags whether or not a Steam game is using any form of AI. This isn't the first extension we've seen - there's the aptly named 'AI warning for Steam' which does exactly what it says on the tin - but it's perhaps one of the most advanced.

Created by 'Elanis,' Slop-Inator is still in its early stages, but it should flag generative AI usage on Steam pages, sale pages, and demo pages. Those that have AI disclosures are marked with various badges, including the usual audio megaphone and an artist's palette. These are color-coded, with red confirming AI use, while green means the game is clean.

In their example, Elanis uses Arc Raiders which, at the moment, still makes use of AI voiceover. The little symbol showing someone speaking is red with a small 'AI' next to it, while the other badges are white, meaning that they're currently unsure whether AI has been used elsewhere in the game's development. It's worth noting that Embark is looking to replace its AI voiceover and NPC performances with actual actors, but for now, it's in the red.

The project is entirely open-source, and Elanis is interested in hearing your thoughts, too. Bear in mind this is something they've spun up in their free time, so there may be some delays between feedback and final implementation.

You can download Slop-Inator here, for both Windows Chrome and Firefox. Elanis is also hoping to expand the extension out to other sites, including itch.io.

It's quite depressing to see just how many AI games are starting to appear on Steam. Discoverability is already at an all-time low, and while Valve is actively trying to tweak things, it has done so to mixed success. Burying indie games under a pile of AI drivel isn't going to help with that - if anything, it's just making everything worse. Elanis' extension is an absolute must, then: I've already downloaded it.